The police came for interrogation for three days, but Devon already knew exactly what to say.
First off, he had to change his tone to sound like he was traumatized by what happened.
"I don't really remember what happened, but I think they were robbers."
"Why do you think that?" the man asked gently, the female investigator standing still in the corner of the room.
"Because he kept telling my dad, 'Give me the money, I know you have it.'"
"Did you perhaps see his face?"
"No, I did not. I was coming home after buying a pack of smokes for my dad, and I heard them arguing. When I got in, I saw my dad lying there on the couch."
"Can you describe his face?"
"It was dark, and when I saw him, he smashed my head with something heavy."
Devon started crying. "I don't remember. I want to, but I don't. I'm sorry. I really am."
"It's fine. It's not your fault."
Devon was finally removed from the suspect list after three days, but he had a feeling they would be back. He had to make it seem like a robbery or a personal grudge to avoid being put in custody "for his protection" or watched 24/7. He needed to act freely, and that would be impossible under surveillance.
A week passed after the incident. Devon was finally on his feet and back in school — Mavis High. Apparently, the original Devon had just gotten into high school. Devon, in his past life, never got that far. Perhaps this was another change caused by him going back in time.
Devon's mom gave him some money — four dollars — meant to last the week. It was small, but in his past life, he'd never even seen a hundred-dollar note.
He got to class early. Students were already chatting, laughing, forming their social circles.
"Heyyy! The name's Raphael. This your first day, right?"
Devon had the urge to walk away but decided to stay a bit longer.
"What's your name?" Raphael asked.
"Devon."
"Nice to meet you, Devon."
"Sure," Devon said, then left, not wasting any more time.
He couldn't care less. To him, every single human was like an ant — their lives even more worthless. He sat toward the edge of the class, pushing his chair a bit backward.
Everyone looked at him.
"Who the hell is this weirdo?"
"What's he doing?"
"Does he think he's better than us?"
"His parents are probably rich or something."
Conversations like that spread quickly, and everyone started despising him on his first day.
Devon ignored them and sank into his thoughts.
November 2nd… if I'm correct. Do I have enough time? With the changes I made, could it still be November 2nd? What if it skipped a year because of me? Last time, it happened as an accident. Making it look real is harder than it might seem…
"Hello?"
A hand waved in front of his face.
"Hey! You there?"
Devon blinked and turned. A girl with short blue hair was smiling softly at him.
"What?" he said flatly.
"Nothing really," she said with a small laugh. "I just saw you sitting far away from the others and thought I should introduce myself. Hi — my name's Sophia."
"What do you want? And how do you know my name?"
"I heard it when you said it earlier. It's a nice name…"
"Do you mind? I wanna be left alone."
"Bam!"
"Who do you think you are, acting like you own the world just because your parents are rich? Don't look down on us!" Raphael cut in angrily.
"Raph, that's enough," Sophia said quickly, trying to hold him back.
"I can't stand people like him…"
Everyone in class turned toward the argument.
"Ahh, I see," Devon said, standing up. He was a little shorter in stature but still imposing nonetheless.
"Why am I looking down on you? I look down on you because you're below me — each and every one of you. Do you think you're special? Just because you got here? Is that the lie your parents told you so you won't realize how useless you are? Wake up to reality. If every single one of you died, the school would cover it up to protect their image, pay your parents, and you'd all be forgotten.
The next time you come close to me without my permission, I'll show you how truly insignificant you are."
Devon sat back down.
Everyone was speechless. The words they heard — could they really come from one of their classmates?
"How rich could he be, to look down on us this much?" someone whispered.
Whispers erupted around the room. Raphael and Sophia stood frozen.
"Didn't you hear me?" Devon said in a low voice. "Leave my face. Now."
They both stepped back instantly.
Then, the door opened — and the teacher walked in, but a figure followed in with the teacher...
Everyone quickly got back to thier seat, not wanting to be punished only Devon was left standing up.